In many areas fences or posts or bollards are erected to delimit the area beyond which motor vehicles can pass, and if struck by a vehicle these often break and do not effectively prevent or slow down the passage of the vehicle into the area beyond the fence or posts. Also posts or bollards have been erected to prevent vehicles being used to smash into the windows of retail premises in what is known as a “ram raid”. These have been substantially solid metal posts embedded in a concrete base. While these have been effective to a degree, it has been found that if struck by a vehicle that the post or bollard will bend to an inclined angle. The vehicle on passing over the inclined post will be thrown upward in an uncontrolled manner.
With the advent of outdoor dining becoming more popular, due in some respect to the ban on smoking in confined areas, more diners are being positioned on footpaths and side walks very close to passing traffic. In these situations it is realised that unless there can be provided adequate safety measures, serious accidents can occur.
Various posts have been proposed as crash barriers for vehicles, these being firmly embedded and fixed in the ground, such as by being fixed in a concrete block. Examples of such posts are shown in PCT/AU93/00124, AU80848/98 and AU20146/92. These posts are all designed to bend or deform at or about ground level and thus do not overcome the problem outlined above. The energy to be absorbed by the post is provided by the resistance to the bending of the post.